Aside from a couple of nasty, ‘and that’s a wrap’ stoppage wins, it’s safe to say that Yushin Okami has struggled to entertain most fans with his grinding style. Like it or not, the guy is damn effective, and if he gets ahold of Anderson Silva for a prolonged time at UFC Rio, the living […]
Aside from a couple of nasty, ‘and that’s a wrap’ stoppage wins, it’s safe to say that Yushin Okami has struggled to entertain most fans with his grinding style. Like it or not, the guy is damn effective, and if he gets ahold of Anderson Silva for a prolonged time at UFC Rio, the living highlight reel may not be so thrilling.
How the action will unfold aside, the good news is that it’s looking like the pre-fight road to Silva vs. Okami II is not going to be completely void of drama. While Okami isn’t exactly known for the smack talk, he is the last dude to defeat Silva, and the renowned Brazilian champ apparently is still a wee bit irked about that fact. In a recent interview with the LA Times (thanks to ESPN U.K. for the heads up), Silva talked about his DQ loss to Okami in 2006, and offered this:
“I was a little surprised with his reaction to that [upkick],” Silva said in the LA Times. “Do I think he could have continued? I do think he could have continued. But he had the rules in his favour. I did an illegal kick and he chose that it was better not to continue.”… “I respect everybody and have a history in the sport and I believe people need to respect me. When they cross that line of respect is when they don’t really understand what happens.”
Huh. Is someone calling somebody a coward? The article also mentions that apparently Silva referred to Okami in the past as a “samurai without honor”…now that’s gotta hurt. See, this Silva vs. Okami II bout is shaping up just fine.
Wanderlei Silva hasn’t fought for almost a year when he won a Unanimous Decision over Michael Bisping last February at UFC 110, but that hasn’t kept the outspoken Brazilian from consistently making MMA headlines. Silva had been expected to fight Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama last June at UFC 116 but was forced to pull out […]
Wanderlei Brown is Living in America
Wanderlei Silva hasn’t fought for almost a year when he won a Unanimous Decision over Michael Bisping last February at UFC 110, but that hasn’t kept the outspoken Brazilian from consistently making MMA headlines. Silva had been expected to fight Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama last June at UFC 116 but was forced to pull out after sustaining 3 broken ribs during training. Chris Leben was a late replacement for Silva and won the fight with an impressive Triangle Choke in the 3rd round. Shortly after, Leben called out Wanderlei Silva as the next fight he wanted. At the time Silva thought a match-up with Leben would be a great fight for him and told MMAFighting “He won’t pass the first two rounds with me”. However, the anticipated fight between Leben and Silva was never meant to be as Dana White decided to give Leben to Brian Stann per Stann’s request.
Meanwhile, a smack-talk happy Chael Sonnen would go on to get his title-shot against UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, which he ultimately lost. Shortly after that fight, Wanderlei Silva expressed his disdain for Sonnen’s smack-talk and scolded him in the back of a van, as seen: here. During that conversation, Sonnen said his next fight would be a rematch with Anderson Silva, but as we all know Sonnen shamed his way out of lost that immediate title-shot after he tested positive for PEDs following the UFC 117 fight. Sonnen then turned his attention to Wanderlei as he began to stew over that van scolding and entered into a Twitter war of words with Wandy that many thought was leading to a meeting in the Octagon. But then, Sonnen went and got himself all mixed up in some money laundering scheme, thus sidelining his UFC career for awhile.
Oh no! Now who would Wandy fight? Enter Brian Stann, the former Marine and virtual newcomer who abolished Chris Leben with knees and strikes in the first round. Stann, who has proved to be a refreshingly humble fighter is now one of the top Middleweights to watch out for and when asked who he’d like to face next, he quietly and respectfully asked for Wanderlei Silva. Dana White seemed all for this bout, but Silva wasn’t quite up for marketing or accepting this one. According to MMA Junkie, White said:
“We were actually trying to hook [Silva] up with Brian Stann. He doesn’t want to fight Brian Stann. He’s like, ‘[Expletive] that. Everybody is going to hate me if I fight Brian Stann. Everybody loves Brian Stann.’ But that’s the fight we’re trying to make right now.”
And “make” they did as the two Middleweights were signed on to meet at UFC 130 this May. But… then a highly regarded fellow Brazilian nemesis, Vitor Belfort lost a title-shot with Anderson Silva at UFC 126 due to a high kick so majestic, Steven Seagal lays claim to its very invention.And Wanderlei Silvacame forth with the request that he and Belfort settle a long overdue score. Silva challenged Belfort via Brazilian outlet, Tatame:
“And now, where are you running to? I’d give him the number one (on the line to fight me) easily, I’m challenging him … I want him”.
And now friends… he’s got him! Wanderlei Silva is out of UFC 130 and Wandy vs. Vitor Belfort II is set for UFC [yet to be numbered] Rio. Let’s hope after all his hard hyping work, this fight actually happens and Wanderlei doesn’t end up on the losing end of this rematch as he did their first time in the cage, as seen below:
*Editor’s note: Don’t knock that sweet little Wanderlei/James Brown photoshop pic we did; though we actually could have used this old pic of Wandy in his younger days:
("I also want a twenty percent senior’s discount on all UFC merchandise and a scooter to get me to the Octagon.")
When the UFC announced it would be holding a press conference in Brazil to announce that the promotion would be returning to the…
("I also want a twenty percent senior’s discount on all UFC merchandise and a scooter to get me to the Octagon.")
When the UFC announced it would be holding a press conference in Brazil to announce that the promotion would be returning to the South American birthplace of modern MMA to hold its first event since Ultimate Brazil on October 16, 1998, many were surprised to see UFC 1, 2 and 4 tournament champ Royce Gracie included in the festivities.
The fact that Royce was prominently positioned on the dais between fellow Brazilian MMA luminaries Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort and Jose Aldo didn’t rais any eyebrows, considering Gracie’s UFC Hall of membership and his family’s history with the promotion. It was the fact that the 44-year-old, who hasn’t competed since testing positive for steroids after his K-1 Dynamite!! USA bout with Kazushi Sakuraba in June 2007 revealed that he was interested in competing on the "UFC Rio" card.
In an interview he did with Sherdog yesterday, Gracie said that he is negotiating with the UFC to be included on the card, which will likely be at least half filled with Brazilian fighters.
According to Fighters Only who spoke to a source close to the situation, "it’s unlikely" that Gracie will be included on the card, but "anything is possible possible."
(Nogueira takes ice baths to quell hip pain and to treat his hypergonadism.)
Many fans of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira were disappointed by the spotty showing of former PRIDE star when he made the transition to the UFC. Some hypothesized th…
(Nogueira takes ice baths to quell hip pain and to treat his hypergonadism.)
Many fans of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira were disappointed by the spotty showing of former PRIDE star when he made the transition to the UFC. Some hypothesized that he was slower as a result of the accumulative damage the scores of punches and kicks his head has absorbed over the years, while others assumed he had lost a step due to age.
According to Nogueira, who by the way is only 34, the reason he hasn’t performed to the potential he demonstrated in Japan is that he has been secretly battling a pair of nagging injuries for the past four years.
“This is an injury I have had for about four years. For the past two years it has been bothering me a lot. I have been training for all the last fights I had, and it was very painful. My last 3 fights were very painful. To tell you the truth, when I was training in 2005, I felt it a little bit in my hip but it wasn’t that much. 2006 it hurt me. When I trained for the Couture fight it hurt me so bad, then this year it was impossible for training," Nogueira explained during a recent interview with SanDiegoMMA.net. "After Anderson Silva’s fight when he fought Chael [Sonnen], I was there in the group and from there I had training the next day and I couldn’t walk, so I went to Colorado [to see a doctor]. My physical trainer told me [the doctor in Colorado] was the best hip doctor in the world, Dr. Philippon. He took a look at me and said ‘you can’t fight. You are 40% on your performance.’”
(Shogun Rua comes face-to-face with his future. Props: reddit)
Notable quote from yesterday’s UFC Rio press conference:
"I’m still thinking (on fighting in Rio). But I’m always training. This return of UFC to Brazil touched me, made me feel the…
(Shogun Rua comes face-to-face with his future. Props: reddit)
"I’m still thinking (on fighting in Rio). But I’m always training. This return of UFC to Brazil touched me, made me feel the wish of coming back to the Octagon. Everything has being negotiated with Dana White. Let’s wait and see." — UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie
Not to say that the UFC’s first superstar shouldn’t have some sort of ceremonial role at the UFC’s return to Brazil next August…but fighting? Let’s nip that shit in the bud, pronto. The last time Royce set foot in the Octagon, he was smashed by Matt Hughes in a brutal passing of the torch back at UFC 60. His next (and still most recent) performance was a June 2007 revenge match against Kazushi Sakuraba, which ended in a decision win and a one-year steroid suspension.
